Splatoon: The Flying Squids
by Jewelfirecraftd
Summary: When two young inklings get mixed up in the same situation, they must learn to cope with each other in order to stop a separate race known as the Octarians. (First Story) No longer being continued
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The Shuttle Ride

Toda looked around the shuttle excitedly. First trip to Inkopolis. Who wouldn't be? She turned her head, well, tried, as the shuttle made a sharp turn to see the other passengers. Her heart jumped as she noticed a member of a famous ink battle team, the Vampire Squids. The inkling was wearing a shirt that said it, and had his name, team logo, and some weird tiny writing on the back. He held an inkbrush that was colored dark pink (which is considered red ink) and dripped onto a mat on the floor.

 _How convenient,_ Toda thought.

The shuttle stopped, and she watched as the Vampire Squid team member hopped onto the station, only to frantically squid away as a bunch of fans crowded him. Toda laughed to herself.

 _Must be hard being famous, or did he have a little stage fright?_

She gripped the pole as the shuttle began to move again, and looked outside at the bay they were passing. A robotic voice came on.

 _Please head to the nearest pad and link yourself to the spawn point,_ it said.

Toda knew why. She learned it in school that once a shuttle crashed into the ocean and all the passengers went missing. This was why every time a shuttle was about to cross deep water, everyone had to link themselves to a spawn point.

Toda got up to the pad. It was like a small computer, but touchscreen and other cool stuff. She pressed the buttons and entered in her ticket number and ID.

Underage squids had to ride with their guardians. The max age when you were considered 'adult' was when you turned 14. That was because that's when you could fully control your humanoid and squid forms.

Toda peered outside the window and gazed at the water full of wonder. She knew of the rumors of the giant squids in the water, and the possible existence of the feared whale, an extinct predator of the inklings ancestors. Toda's relatives in her peer group said it was just a bunch of splattalk. Splattalk was a term used by inklings for stuff that was just junk.

Toda looked around for a free seat. After a few seconds, she sat down next to a male inkling playing on his ISquid. She felt uneasy around him, she didn't like being with strangers.

 _Might as well get used to it, you're gonna meet a lotta squiddies during turf war._

But this was a different uneasy. It reminded her of when her grandmother told her of the inkline of fate, where there is a chance where in the future you'll meet a certain person again. Why? She didn't know. But she tried to scooch away from him without it being obvious. Unfortunately, the inkling noticed, but that was soon interrupted by the sudden appearance of two boys squidding down the interior of the shuttle, one as a kraken, the other riding him. A few inklings took out their ISquids and began to record the event, laughing when the pair eventually crashed at the end of the shuttle.

Toda couldn't help but laugh herself, it was funny, this feat the pair came up with.

The inkling next to her eventually looked up from his game, chuckled a little, and went to the game again. Toda tried looking sideways seeing what he was playing, but darted eyes away as the robotic voice came up again, this time saying, _Arriving at Inkopolis Plaza, please watch your step, and no squidding out the doors._

This was it. The moment Toda had been waiting for. When she took her first steps, onto the fresh, new, soil of Inkopolis.

Author's Note: This is my first story, all Splatoon NPCs (Non-Player Characters) appearing within the story belong to Nintendo. All dialogue terms (e.g. 'splattalk') are made up, and are most likely not used in the game.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Off the Shuttle, to Inkopolis!

Toda didn't see what she expected. When she got off the shuttle, she saw a station, but where were all the big buildings? The crosswalk? The giant TV screens? Inkopolis Tower? Then she saw them, a hop, skip, and a _super jump_ away. They were only some blue silhouettes in the distance.

She hopped off the shuttle. A bunch of squids were gathering around at a map, the lighted up kind normally under some shade. Toda pushed her way through to gaze up at it. It showed a map to Inkopolis Plaza, and the instructions to get there. Toda looked around, and found what she was looking for. A super jump pad. From there she could jump (or 'fly') to Inkopolis Plaza. Super Jump? She never really thought she would need to do that in life. She was never really good at it (at least that's what she told herself).

She looked back and tried to remember when she first learned super jumps. Her Physical Education teacher, had told them that it all was really sucking in the ink through your beak, and once you couldn't hold anymore, 'spit' it all out at once. After that lesson they learned that you could control your distance by how much ink you took in. That lesson was soon interrupted by a surprise takeoff by one of the students. That's when the school decided that the gymnasium needed a higher roof.

A couple inklings had already taken off (only the creator knows where they landed), and the shuttle had left. Toda then looked behind the map and saw an ink covered area, orange and pink, another way to Inkopolis. It looked more fun. And it didn't have a "No Splattershot" sign either.

Toda then saw him. The same quiet inkling boy on the shuttle earlier. His skin tone wasn't very dark, but not very light either. A bit lighter than Toda's. His mantle (the area on top of an inklings head, which is also used to describe the head area of squids) was a bright neon orange, almost as if he had just charged up a special. But his eyes were a stunning deep blue, perfect contrast with the orange, although to Toda it made him look a bit scary.

He put down his phone (the ISquid) and began to walk towards the map. Toda felt the same uneasiness again. But then . . . He was staring straight at her! Mouth a bit open. A surprised look on his face. Toda didn't like being stared at. So she stared at him back. They stared for what seemed like five minutes but was really three seconds when Toda finally lifted her shoulders a bit as if saying, "What?" The inkling boy shot a quick look upwards. Toda then looked at her own mantle. Instead of the cerulean blue she intended, it was shifting in a spectrum of colors, from dark pink, to scarlet, orange, yellow, and so on.

 _Oh,_ Toda thought. She shook her head to change it back to cerulean, and began walking down the longer path instead of taking the super jump pad. Sometimes her mantle went completely out of control with colors. The doctor said it was because she was a late 'squidder', which meant it took longer for her to fully control her kid/squid abilities.

Toda shifted to squid and back to inkling. This time, Toda wore an ink tank and held a Splattershot, filled with cerulean ink. She began shooting the area with her own color, covering orange and red (dark pink) ink. It was always the same strategy. Splat. Squid. Splat. Squid. It was fast. She liked fast.

She threw a bomb at the wall and then noticed a ripple in the blue ink. Then the sound of inking, and the quiet ripples of a . . . squid. The inkling boy hadn't decided to super jump either. Toda felt like she was being stalked.

 _Creepy,_ she thought. Toda made her way towards the end of the path, and saw then jump pad ahead. She threw a bomb, and inked the empty space for her path. Squid. Then finally on the jump pad. Her mantle (as a squid) was almost halfway full when another squid joined her on the pad.

 _It's him,_ she thought. When she was full, she 'spat' it out, as her P.E. teacher would've said. It sent her flying, flying the same way her ancestors did. The inkling method of 'flight' hasn't changed since they were squids.

After a short (but helpful) talk with the newbie guide, Toda was ready for life in Inkopolis. She was about to head towards the lobby when a huge TV screen turned on. Inkopolis News Time! Toda couldn't believe it, a news show by the one and only, Squid Sisters! She tried to pay attention to the best of her ability, however, was distracted by someone squid's cool looking gear, and only heard bits and pieces. Something about the Great Zapfish's disappearance, and a supposed UFO crash. Then of course the battle stages. Regular Battles: Something Underpass? Seaspray Rig? Toda was only half listening.

The news finally ended and Toda saw maybe three inklings rush up the ramp to the balcony. She followed them, wondering what was so interesting. Then she found out. Toda was looking, at the _real_ Squid Sisters. _Real_. In the flesh, and bone (or did squids have cartilage?). Well, looking at the _real_ Squid Sisters through a window was enough for real. Toda stared. Along with a few other inklings. Two were chatting and pointing at them, and one sat alone on the far left, holding a camera, trying _his_ best not to be seen. _Stalker,_ Toda thought. She turned her head to observe the inside of the studio. There was two lollipops on the table in which Callie and Marie were sitting at. Toda watched for quite a while. Then suddenly, the sisters _waved_ at _her_. _Her!_ They could've waved at anyone in the world, and they did to _her_. That made Toda feel happy on the inside. To be noticed by some squid _so_ noticeable, so well-known, so _famous_. Well, Toda was done with this area, now to explore the rest of the plaza.

She saw him. The, 'creepy old dude' the newbie guide spoke of. He took a peek out of the grate and dove back inside. _Who was he?_ Toda thought. She jumped down from the balcony (although technically as a squid), and peered into the grate. She expected to see ink, but only darkness was there. There were no signs around, telling which direction the tunnel went, though she knew the nearest city was Cephaloson, so she assumed it was just an old sewer. But she still jumped in anyway. Curiosity would soon get the best of her, just maybe not today.

Paci looked down at the grate in which the blue girl had entered. He was sitting on the railing, swinging his legs back and forth, observing the area. He gained some interest in watching these two inklings dancing in front of the coffee shop window, and decided to hang around for a while.

Paci liked to keep his mantle a bright neon orange. Although, he liked any neon color that might as well give off some light in the dark. It was cool. Paci was sitting in a shady area, so his mantle did give off some light, but very little. A few inkling girls below had caught sight of his deep blue eyes, some startled, some had giggled a bit. But honestly, sometimes Paci could be ink-credibly stupid. Or, he would just space out. Paci was almost about to space out when he caught sight of something shiny on the ground. He leapt down from the railing to see what it was. The blue squid's ID card! She had dropped it! _I should return it to her,_ Paci thought. But then decided to read the card first.

It had the inkling's picture and her name. _Toda_. The girl had a cerulean blue mantle and yellow eyes. Except they could probably been called amber. Not a common eye color for Artic-Pacific squids. It did say she was an Artic-Pacific mix.

She was also fourteen. Like Paci.

Eventually he decided to return it to her, and squidded into the grate himself. There was blue ink everywhere, so Paci had to avoid the ink to the best of his ability (he was too lazy to splat it himself), and saw light at the end of the tunnel. He squidded up, and knocked into the girl before shifting back to inkling again. The girl, Toda, was now glaring at him, with piercing yellow eyes. It unsettled Paci. He held out his hand, holding the ID card. "Um, you dropped this . . ."

Toda swiped the card out of his hand. The red tinge in her mantle faded, and she shoved the card into her pocket. She was about to say something when she noticed an old inkling looking straight at them.

"The creepy old dude," she whispered to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Squidbeak Splatoon (Intro to Octo Valley)

A shiver went down Toda's spine. Paci took a deep breath. The creepy old dude stare was so unnerving. Especially with those big, _big_ eyes. _Is that what'll happen to my eyes when I get old?!_ Toda thought. The old inkling was stuttering.

"The, Oc- Oc- the Octarians . . ." he began, only ending up in some cry ("NOOOOOOOO!") in which both Paci and Toda had to both cover their ears.

The inkling then shook his head. "Sorry, I believe I lost my cool for a moment." Paci and Toda exchanged glances. "I'm Cap'n Cuttlefish! Leader of the legendary Squidbeak Splatoon!" the inkling said, while making a peace sign with his hand.

Paci and Toda stared at him. Paci raised an eyebrow. "That look in your eye…" the inkling continued. "It's the look I've been lookin' for!" Toda then paid more attention. This was getting interesting.

"The Great Zapfish that powers Inkopolis has been squidnapped! No one believes me, but it's the work of the Octarians! I just know it! They want revenge for the Great Turf War of 100 years ago!"

Paci looked at the pictures on the wall of the strange structure behind Cuttlefish. Apparently, those creepy severed tentacle lookin' thingies were Octarians.

 _But what is the 'Great Turf War'?_ he wondered.

"I've been keepin' an eye on them the whole time of course. But they stole the Zapfish right out from under my nose!" Cuttlefish said, stamping his foot on the ground. His eyes turned to the two inklings in front of him.

"Please! You gotta help me rescue the Great Zapfish!"

Toda thought hard about it. She looked at the area around her, and noticed a huge octopus-shaped rock formation in the distance. Maybe the old squid was right. Toda knew that the inklings these wouldn't really care. She might be the first. After Cuttlefish of course.

The Cap'n stood there silent for quite a long time. Paci fidgeted with his fingers.

"So…" Cuttlefish began, "I'm gonna take your silence as a 'yes'."

Paci looked as if he were about to object, but then Cap'n Cuttlefish said, "Starting today, you," he pointed at Toda, "Are Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon! As for you," he pointed towards Paci, "You are now Agent 4!"

Paci seemed to mirror Cuttlefish, and realized he was pointing at himself. He turned to the girl next to him, who was holding a small bag she received from Cuttlefish. Cuttlefish handed Paci a bag as well.

"This is your new Hero Suit! It'll help you fight the Octarians." He then waved at hand at Toda, apparently giving permission to use the interior of the structure behind him (which Paci assumed was his house) for her to change. Paci had to look for his spot of privacy.

After they changed, the two stepped out in front of Cuttlefish, marveling at their new gear. The head gear, covering their ears was also equipped with radio, although they could only hear some faint static for now. They seemed to be wearing what looked like a safety vest, with a glow-in-the-dark squid-shaped tag in the back. The shoes were black, but still pretty cool. Toda liked the glowing lights on the ear coverings.

Cap'n Cuttlefish looked at them for a moment, before saying, "What a great fit!" Then mumbled to himself. "For a hand-me-down from Agents 1 and 2."

He then picked up his cane, pointing it upwards, saying "Now let's get those Octojerks! I'm counting on you buckos!"

Toda seemed happy with her new assignment. She even let out a "Yea-hah!" which brought a small smile to Cuttlefish. Paci however, didn't intend on getting mixed up in such an assignment. He was still eyeing his hero shot like it was going to splat him by itself.

Cuttlefish then cleared his throat. "I believe you two know each other, right?"

Toda and Paci glanced at each other.

 _Nope._

Toda held out a hand. Paci, glancing at her then her hand, reluctantly shook it. Toda gave Paci a firm look. She then turned around looking everywhere, a bit confused. "Shoot your ink to reveal the entrances to the Octarian lair! Once you're in, I'll speak to you through the radio!" Cuttlefish said. Paci turned his head but Toda was already at the first entrance, revealing a kettle-like grate tunnel. Paci felt like he was with a stranger. They hadn't had a _proper_ introduction. He then heard her voice. "Come on, um, uh," she made a gesture with her hands and Paci said, "Paci."

"Yeah, Paci, go into the grate now!" she said, then squidded into the kettle herself. Paci followed her, and heard a sharp whistle noise as they entered the Octarian lair.

They appeared in what seemed to be a whole other place, strange dark pink (red) ink everywhere. Toda bumped Paci's shoulder. "I guess you know who I am if you read my ID, but, f.y.i., my name's Toda."

Paci nodded. "Eheh, um, pleasure to meet you Toda."

She shrugged. "Well, this is unintended."

Paci nodded again. "Yep, eh, I guess we're supposed to be fighting the, 'Octarians'."

Toda looked around. "Okay, question is, where the heck are they?"

"Maybe you'd find 'em if you actually start movin'!" said a voice from the radio.

Toda furrowed her brow. "Uh, which direction?"

"Forward!" Cuttlefish replied.

She gestured to Paci. "Well, let's go then." She started trotting forward, but carried her Hero Shot lazily like it was dead weight. She was having some doubts about this. Well, she's going to change her mind soon because - _zip! –_ a blob of the fuchsia colored ink had floated past her. Her eyes widened as they followed the slow projectile, and ended up on Paci, who gestured for her to come behind a wall he'd found. Toda searched for the cephalopod who tried to splat her, and found what appeared to be a red severed octopus tentacle with bulging yellow eyes, with green irises and outlined purple. She slammed her back against the wall and spoke into the radio. "This is what an Octarian looks like?! They're like freakin' severed tentacles!"

"Well, what'd you expect bucko?" Cap'n Cuttlefish asked.

"Hmm, I-dunno, inklings that are octopi instead of squid?"

On the other side of the radio Cuttlefish smiled. "Oh, you'll meet them soon enough, for now, you just gotta deal with 'em Octotroopers."

Toda heard Paci speak on the radio too. "So basically do we just shoot 'em? Or, like how dangerous are they?"

Cuttlefish cleared his throat. "Octotroopers are your standard nearly-harmless Octarian trooper. They can shoot small slow blobs of ink that, well, you _can basically outrun._ They're easy to splat. Don't you worry."

"Okay then!" Toda said delightfully as she walked in front of the wall and splatted the Octotrooper in a few short splats. She flicked one of her tentacles backward. "Easy."

Cuttlefish spoke again. "It's best to ink paths for yourself. You're faster, plus, the Octarians won't be able to see you, despite how large the ripples are."

Paci chuckled. "Heh, guess they don't have pretty good eyesight," he said, and began inking the area. Toda was holding a triangular shaped container, a _splat bomb_.

"So these are our subs huh?" she said, and threw the bomb a reasonable distance, in which it then exploded in a blast of lime green ink.

"Yep," replied Cap'n Cuttlefish. "Silly, those Octojerks would follow the bomb with their eyes if you threw it. What a distraction."

"Hmm," Toda said as she thought of such a scene. "It's like they're making it _convenient_ for _us_." She then squidded through the ink path Paci had made, who was waiting for her after splatting the next group of Octotroopers.

"Hey, uh, Cap'n, what are these orange ball thingies?" Paci asked into the radio.

"Those, are called, 'power eggs'," Cuttlefish replied.

"Ugh, they're not _real_ eggs are they?" Paci asked nervously.

Cuttlefish chuckled. "Nope, at least I don't think so. They can be used to upgrade weapons. I think they're a type of fruit. Don't try eating it though."

"Mmm, okay then," Paci said and dropped the power egg.

Toda yelled at him. "What do you think you're doing?! He said that those _can upgrade weapons_! I don't think a whole _army_ would have these sluggish Octotroopers in it. Things are sure to get tougher! Am I right Cap'n?"

"Yep. The girl's right uh, whats-yer-name-be?" Cuttlefish said.

"My name is _Paci_ ," Paci replied.

"Uh, yeah, they're a lot tougher Octarians out there. Best collect those power eggs so you can upgrade your weapons bucko!"

Paci shrugged. "Fine." He turned around, and saw Toda struggling with an Octarian positioned on a balcony. It wore a metal shield around it front, but because of its position it was hard to get the vulnerable back side.

Cuttlefish spoke into the radio. "Distract him with a bomb. Make sure to get it on the platform. He'll turn around and then- _splat!_ "

Toda reluctantly obeyed the Cap'n. She threw a splat bomb onto the platform, and, the Octarian _actually followed it!_ It showed its back side, from which Toda splatted. She turned back towards Paci with a grin on her face that said, _I'm totally pro._

It was just too easy.

"Hey, look over there," Paci says, pointing to a strange rippling green pad.

"Jump pad," Toda replied, panting.

The two inklings squidded over and each launched off.

In the air, Paci noticed that Toda had revealed two huge squid fins on the sides of her mantle. He blinked. The fins folded in. Were there even fins at all?

They landed on a metal platform. In front of them, was a small, bright yellow, carp, a _Zapfish_. It was trapped inside what seemed to be a huge light bulb.

"Hey," Toda said to Paci. She began shooting at the zapfish's light bulb container, and it exploded, leaving the fish exposed. She reached up and grabbed it.

"Heh heh, kinda cute isn't he?" she said, while holding the Zapfish.

"Hey, lemme hold him too," Paci said, and Toda handed him the Zapfish.

The fish however, did not seem to enjoy inkling contact despite how happy it was not to be inside a light bulb, and kept squirming, its slimy surface causing Toda and Paci to keep dropping it.

"If he falls one more time I'm pretty sure you would've killed him," Toda said as Paci picked up the fish from the ground. A static sound went through the radio, as Cap'n got in contact with them again.

"There should be a grate tunnel above you leading to the surface. Not many inklings are good when it comes to jumping upward through a grate, but I'm sure you'll manage."

"Heh, might as well fill our mantles until they burst!" Toda remarked.

"Um, let's not do that," Paci said with a slight smile. He looked up, using his hand to shield his eyes, and pinpointed that the grate was directly above them.

They leapt through the grate, ending up in the same grate tunnel that got them there. Cap'n Cuttlefish provided directions of course. When they reached Octo Valley, Toda pulled out an old piece of paper. "Ah, so you've found a _sunken scroll_?" Cuttlefish remarked.

Toda looked at the scroll with confusion. Paci peered over her shoulder. Cuttlefish chuckled. "No wonder you look confused. All you young'un inklings care about today is the latest weapons and gear, your 'freshness', the Squid Sisters' latest hits. I bet more than half of you don't know how most of the world works."

Toda read from the paper. "So Zapfish are _rare?_ Then how come we have so many of them?"

Cuttlefish shrugged. " _Breeding programs_ , I guess."

" _Weird_ ," Paci said after reading the paper.

"Here," Cuttlefish began. "I'll keep these for ya'. Have a little collection. These can be hard to find, and are normally in some _secret-hard-to-reach_ places."

"Sounds cool," says Toda. "We can learn a lil' bit of some history here."

"That's the spirit!" Cap'n Cuttlefish says. "Anyway, you young'uns can take a break if ya' want, come back tomorrow maybe, or you can continue. Only two more Zapfish to save before the Boss Kettle!"

Paci looked at Toda. "The _'Boss Kettle'_?"

Toda shrugged. "Let's come back later and we'll find out."

They both changed back to their original gear and squidded through the grate leading back to Inkopolis.

Cap'n Cuttlefish chuckled. "Welcome to Octo Valley buckos."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Inkopolis Basics

Toda stood still as she looked at her wristpad. A strange button was blinking, and she had no idea what it meant. One thing that stumped her for sure, was why turf wars needed these 'wristpad' techno thingies. Teal ink splashed against her foot as Paci slid in next to her. He was surrounded by some kind of force field, and upon contact one appeared around Toda as well. "It's a bubbler, like a shield," he said, and glanced at Toda's blinking wristpad. "Hey, that button enables your special weapon."

"Special weapon?" Toda asked.

Paci nodded. "Yeah, a special weapon. Once you get enough coverage points, it finishes charging. Then, you press that button with the symbol for that certain type of special. Like mine, a bubbler. All Splattershot Jr.'s come with bubblers. You should save your special for when you really needed. But you only get a limited time to use it, you can see its charge go down. Maybe you could use it against those snipers." He pointed up at two inkling girls, each wielding a splat charger. They sat upon the highest point in Blackbelly Skatepark, and were sniping upon the squids below. Well, one of them at least. It looked like the other girl was using it like a shooter, not like a charger should be used.

"Thanks, but I still don't understand the rest of this stuff," Toda said.

"Alright," Paci began, "There's a picture of the map, the whole battle stage. See all that teal and pink ink? That's the current coverage of each team. And look at that pulsing squid symbol," he pointed at the squid on the wristpad, "that represents your location. The one next to it, is mine. Up on the top are some more squids. They represent who's currently alive and who's been splatted. Oh, and there's your points in the corner."

Toda blinked. "Wow, you sure know a lot."

It was like Paci didn't hear her. "Your wristpad also shows who you splatted, and when you respawn it shows who splatted you, for a short amount of time."

Toda furrowed her brow. "You play this before you were 14 or somethin'?"

Paci shrugged. "Those online battles we'd play as kids are replicas of the real thing. I don't think I'm very good myself. But I wanna get a roller." His eyes gleamed. "A _Krak-on_ roller."

"Eh," said Toda. "I don't believe a roller and I would do good on a relationship. Shooter's better for me." She looked at her wristpad. "Our team's winning, ya' know- "

Paci pulled Toda by the arm. "Watch out!" But it was too late. Both inklings were splatted by a huge pink squid creature.

The arrow designs on the respawn pad began to move in a speeding circle, as Toda reformed, Paci not so long after. Toda scratched her head. "What the heck was that?!"

Paci stared at his wrist. "Look on your wristpad." Toda did as told. On it was some footage of an inkling boy, the words on the screen saying, _Splatted by Kraken!_

A name was also listed, as well as his current gear. According to the screen, his name was Teu. Not a very common name, Toda figured.

 _He must be from the mainland Pacific._

The background music changed. It was now a more, upbeat, song. "The 'one minute left' song." Paci explained. "Plays at the last minute."

Toda squidded along the east side of the skatepark. Apparently the tables have turned, and pink ink was covering the majority of the area. Toda began shooting all the pink, and then she heard a short whimper. The inkling boy who had splatted her earlier was now trying to step his way out, however, was too slow and had not caught sight of Toda until- _splat!_ A small pink squid floated up into the air, making a sad warble. A name appeared on her wristpad. _Splatted Teu!_

That moment, a new feeling entered Toda. She began to shoot, squid, and splat.

 _Splat the opposing team_! was all Toda thought as suddenly the teal team was winning again, and the whistle blew. The warbles of a female inkling Toda had splatted echoed around the map, and Toda's wristpad blinked, an arrow pointing behind her towards the base. Following it, she saw the rest of her 'splatoon'.

Her and Paci, level 1 Splattershot Jr.'s. Another male inkling wore a hat, positioning it backwards. He also wore some crazy looking shoes, which Toda recognized as the 'crazy arrows'. He wielded a Splattershot. The other was a roller, although the only gear different from the basic was his pilot goggles.

The respawn pad had converted into a jump pad, and soon all the squids who had been in the battle were at Inkopolis Tower, awaiting results.

The teal team had won 78.5 to 43, and were cheering. So this was what an ink battle was like. They pay you for simply playing and having fun.

 _How delightful,_ Toda thought, holding a few sand dollars in her hand.

"That was fun!" Paci exclaimed, his mantle quickly turning a bright yellow expressing his emotions.

"Let's do some more," Toda said. "Best we get to level 4 so we can get all the stuff we'll need. Along with more weapons and money too!"

After those few battles, Toda had reached level 5, while Paci was only a few points away. She began to examine the picture on the window of the clothing shop, Jelly Fresh. She and Paci walked in, and had gotten a warm welcome from Jelonzo, a jellyfish. The tips of Paci's tentacles had turned a bit green in amusement from Jelonzo's way of speaking. The jellyfish lived alongside inklings, however spoke a different language and not the standard, Cephalopod, a.k.a. Common Mollusk. Toda had gotten a few shirts, and was now wearing a Black Anchor. Paci was wearing a Squidvader Cap he'd bought from Cooler Heads. Toda had gotten a Sporty Bobble Hat and they both had to agree, that tiny clownfish was something they would want dead ("LOSER ALERT!"). Paci wore a Black Layered LS with Inksaver (Main) as his main ability. As for their foot gear Toda wore the Orange Arrows, and Paci wearing Yellow Seahorses.

"Watch out!" Paci cried as he threw a sub weapon. He expected that a squid beacon could be thrown a certain distance, but it simply placed itself in front of him. Toda laughed. Paci began to realize Toda had a strange, _heh-heh-heh_ , laugh. She moved back a little from the squid dummies used in the testing area, apparently testing the range of a Splattershot. When she realized that the range wasn't that much, she heaved a sigh of disappointment.

"Hmm, guess I'll have to level up to get this roller..." Paci said. He bought a regular splat roller, but what he wanted most was a Krak-on roller. An echoing beep noise went throughout the area as Paci began to see lines on his wristpad screen connecting him to the squid dummies.

"So _this_ is an echolocator. Cool," Toda said, now holding an N-zap '85. "This n-zap is really good," she said, grinning. "I'm gonna get this one."

Paci rolled his eyes. "I've gotta wait till level 7 to get a Krak-on roller." He looked down, seeing his long shadow cast over the area. The sky had become a warm orange, with the outlines of clouds tinged pink and gold. Toda was on the high grate across the area, splatting the dummies below her.

She looked up. "Hey, think we should go back to Octo Valley? I actually find that it might sharpen our skills before we can play another battle."

Paci thought about it. The shadow of a cloud loomed over them, showing the bioluminescence from Paci's mantle. "Hmm, sure. I guess we could..."

Toda blinked. "Then let's get going!"

Paci jumped down from the grate. "Alright." The two inklings left the testing area and made their way to the grate tunnel leading to Octo Valley.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – The Mighty Octostomp! (To the Next Area!)

An ominous creaking sound echoed around the walls of the huge, cave? Oh wait, no, they were domes. According to a sunken scroll they'd found, the Octarians apparently lived in these underground 'domes' connected to each other through 'kettles' as the entrances. Toda tapped her earpiece. "You hear that?"

Paci tilted his head. "That sound?"

"Yeah, the one sounding like, um, how do I describe it?"

They both stood quiet. The metal infrastructure of the dome was moaning, and strange sounds seeming like shrieks and wails came from below.

Toda gritted her beak. "Creepy."

"So," Paci gestured ahead. "We're fighting a huge block."

They launched from the jump pad and landed on the 'battlefield'. Toda began inking the area. Best to be prepared, anyways. The lime green ink glistened under the low light, and appeared to give off some light. Paci began to pace forward.

Toda pointed upwards. "Look," she whispered.

A small light-bulb shaped container caging a zapfish floated down from above. Taking notice of the two inklings, the carp made a cheerful warble, but a huge maroon octopi tentacle appeared from the 'block' in a splash of fuchsia ink. This ink was purpler compared to the standard Octarian red. The Octarian tentacle gripped the zapfish's light-bulb container and pulled it down into the 'block'. A whirring sound, and then the block stood up. It had those characteristic Octarian bulging green eyes, and huge purple lips. Toda found it amazing that the whole thing was supported by those tiny legs at the bottom. The Octostomp caught sight of Toda and Paci, and with a huge roar, it signaled the start of the battle.

On its stubby legs it came rushing towards the two squids, who each dove out of the way into the ink. The Octostomp leapt and landed facedown, shaking the ground. Paci inked his way around it, and squidded until he met with Toda.

"What the heck are we supposed to do?!" he asked frantically. But Toda stared straight ahead at the Octostomp, deep in thought.

"I think I —" Toda began, but the ground rumbled as the Octostomp pulled its face out of the ink, forcing Paci and Toda backward. "Ink!" Toda yelled as they began running, squidding, inking. They dove into their own ink far from the Octostomp's range of view, and Toda began whispering what she had in mind.

"See that hole in its back? Ya' know, where the tentacle came out. Maybe those tentacles are its weak spots. I saw that when it jumped, the tentacle came out."

Paci blinked. "So, what exactly are we supposed to do?"

Toda looked at him hard. "Ink the sides, and squid up to the top when it lands on the ground."

Paci gave a confused look.

Toda sighed. "Then shoot that tentacle." She jumped up out of the ink, and waved her hands wildly trying to catch the Octostomp's attention. "Get to the sides!" she yelled, squidding into her own ink as the Octostomp landed, splashing fuchsia ink around the sides. She began to ink the side of the Octostomp, then jumped as she squidded up. The surface began to shake, but it slowed a bit as Toda began shooting at the tentacle on top, until the shaking stopped, and the tentacle exploded in a fountain of fuchsia.

Toda launched off the Octostomp landing next to Paci. The tentacle resurfaced. It dove into the ink again as the Octostomp blinked once, and turned around. It began to violently shake, and a few pieces of the metal from its sides fell off. It roared, louder and fiercer, blowing all the ink off the battlefield.

Toda instantly began inking the ground, Paci, reluctantly did the same. His heart (or maybe hearts, because squid have 3 hearts, so who knows) was pounding, and his hands had already begun to turn a faint blue (blue will be explained later).

"C'mon help will ya'?" Toda yelled from across the map. She was stuck in the Octostomp's ink, and only a moment later she was up shooting at the tentacle again. Launching off for the second time, she landed on the far end of the map.

Paci squidded over. "I think we just made it, _mad_."

Toda made a short raspberry. "Well, that's his problem. Maybe it's mentally deranged or something. Who knows."

The Octostomp _was_ mad. It shook violently again, this time, using the zapfish's electricity to make the remaining metal things move. It roared loudly, throwing off all the ink, and nearly Paci and Toda as well. Fortunately, it did not notice this.

"Paci, why don't you shoot it?" Toda asked, as she inked as much as she could.

Paci ignored her. The Octostomp jumped again, and Toda began to ink the moving 'platforms'. She tried squidding up, but was shaken off and nearly crushed Paci upon doing so. Paci hauled squid-Toda off of him, a faint shade of blue disappearing from his face. Toda looked at him once with her yellow eyes, and swam into the ink. A shadow loomed over him, and he yelped as a narrowly dodged the Octostomp. He successfully squidded up, and was now trying to shoot the tentacle. If he were a human, he would have been sweating like crazy. But since he was an inkling, the only way to tell of his current emotion now was by the flashing colors on the tips of his tentacles. There were some pulses of red, white, yellow, and green.

The tentacle exploded. Paci launched off and nearly crash landed next to Toda. They both watched as the Octostomp began to twitch, ink beginning to 'bleed' out from its sides. With one final twitch, the whole area was splashed green, covering Paci and Toda as well.

Toda wiped the ink from her eyes. The whole map was now green, and in the center was the zapfish.

"Hey, I think we did it," Paci said.

Toda walked over to where the zapfish was placed. It was surrounded by a circle of power eggs, which Paci picked up.

He pointed over to a ragged paper. "Sunken scroll I bet."

Toda picked up the scroll and began reading it. "Nope, weapons blueprint!"

"Nice!" Paci said. He walked over to the zapfish, but instead of shooting it, he tried to grab the light bulb. The result was him hissing as his hand turned bright blue from the electricity of the light bulb.

Toda blinked at him. "So that's why you shoot it first!" She began to shoot the bubble encasing the zapfish until it exploded. She grabbed it, making sure she didn't drop it, but the carp kept squirming around.

"Hold still, will ya'?" she said.

" _Great Octoweapons_ huh?" Toda said, after listening to Cap'n Cuttlefish's words on the radio.

Paci nudged her shoulder. Purple sparks came from the electrical outlet connected to the Boss Kettle (which none of them had noticed earlier), and zipped along a huge wire. Their eyes followed it, and found a wall of huge light bulb thingies, which suddenly began to whirr and glow brightly, and then exploded in a shower of glass. What the wall had been guarding, was a circular shaped thing that Toda thought resembled a cannon.

Cuttlefish's voice spoke on the radio. "To the next area!"

"What area?" Paci asked.

Toda pointed towards the cannon-looking-thingy. "Cap'n, what's this?"

"What? Never seen an inkrail before?"

"That's an inkrail?! Looks _so_ different compared to what I once thought."

"You just ink it and then it creates a _rail_ of _ink_."

Toda leapt down from the platform with the Boss Kettle, and shot once at the inkrail. In about a second, a long rail of lime ink was created. The inkrail was big enough for a squid, however, the squid could be seen by the bulge in the inkrail it created, as well as its eyes being seen too. Not the typical camouflage.

"Whoa, these things make some _weird_ noises!" Toda cried, as she inked a sponge to its maximum size. The sponge turned to a rich blue, glistening in the light. Light, not sunlight.

"Eh, what?" Paci asked, looking sideways at Toda while aimlessly shooting at some Octocopters.

Toda called at him from atop the sponge. "Squid-up, you snail!"

Paci reluctantly climbed up the sponge, hand on his head.

Toda waved her hand in front of him. "Ahem, hey, Paci?" Paci's blue eyes stared straight ahead, and his mantle began to lose color. "Paci stop spacing out!" Toda snapped.

Paci blinked. "What?" He was only met by Toda's unnerving stare.

"Pay _attention_ or you might get splatted by an Octocopter's attack!" They walked up a slanted platform, leading to a circular area. Three Octoballs spawned within the area, pushing around Paci and Toda before getting splatted. Toda snickered every time someone said, "Octoballs".

They were just across the zapfish, blocked by Octotroopers, and Octocopters. A piece of machinery with a pool of blue ink was in front of them.

"Hmm, wonder what this is," Toda said. "Hey Paci, why don't you try?"

Paci shrugged. "I don't think swimming around in blue liquid would be a pleasant experience for me."

Toda frowned at him. "The _ocean_ is blue, your current ink is _blue_."

"Our _blood_ is blue," Paci added.

Toda stood silent. "Hmm, true, true." She squidded into the pool of ink, and a wall rose up behind her.

Paci watched from outside and saw a projectile fly slowly through the air, hitting a sponge. The sponge suddenly became inked to its full capacity! More projectiles flew. Octarians were splatted, and sponges inked. Toda came out from the machine.

"It's a cannon, like we used in that other kettle before."

The inklings leapt from sponge to sponge, and splatted the Twintacle Octotroopers (the dual tentacle Octotroopers) on the platform.

"Paci I should hold that zapfish instead. You're gonna drop it and it'll fall to the bottom of the dome."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - The Second Area

"Blue. Again." Paci sighed. He smashed his roller as he waited for the battle to begin. Toda tapped her foot on the respawn pad.

"Yeeeeeeesss I'm bluuuuuuee and– oh dangit there's two freakin' snipers!" she mumbled to herself. She looked on her wristpad. "And shoot, one of them's a level 42!"

Paci looked at his. He counted down to the start of the battle. "Three...two...one…" The music turned on, and everyone ran straight forward.

Toda ran straight ahead, saying to herself, "Yaaaay, it's Saltspray Riiiiiiiig, and I'm my favorite colooooor, with my so-far-favorite weapooooon–"

Her voice faded from Paci's range of hearing as she ran towards the center of the map. Paci decided to take care of the lower area, and took to the left. He smashed his roller, but it being a roller, couldn't splash the other side. He knew already that this place was bad for a roller. Especially a newbie. Nevertheless, he jumped down from the platform and began inking the area in a rich blue. A _zip!_ An orange beam of light barely missed him. He looked up and saw one of the snipers Toda had seen. Fortunately, this wasn't the level 42. It was a girl, with tan skin and the characteristic pacific blue eyes. She closed one of her eyes as she concentrated on Paci's movements.

Paci narrowly missed the charger's second shot as he rolled out of the area. A splat bomb flew through the air and took out the charger, followed by a familiar cheer. Toda waved from atop the platform.

"I saved you, I expect a reward!"

Paci made a smirk. "I'll respawn anyway."

Toda folded her arms. "And if the machine doesn't work?"

Paci shrugged. "Let's hope that won't happen."

Toda's mantle began to dramatically illuminate, bubbles of ink visible through her bobble hat. She looked at her wristpad.

"Ooh, special's ready," she said, and pressed the button on the touchscreen.

Instantly the opponents' locations became visible to Paci.

 _An echolocator,_ Paci thought.

He turned into a squid, his mantle expanding as it filled with ink, and then launched off at a high speed. Toda felt the spray of his Jetstream.

She launched as well, and landed seeing two killer wails—one from each team—blast the area, splatting nearly everyone, leaving about only 3 inklings alive. Two from blue, one from orange. Paci splatted him instantly, but was then splatted himself by that level 42 charger—which Toda assumed had a quick respawn ability. She climbed up the stack of two crates and hitched a ride on the crane that carried her around the upper area. A beep came from her wristpad as an arrow with the name 'Elo' appeared on the screen, signaling the arrival of a fellow teammate. An inkling girl landed, however, instantly squidded, falling through the grate and into the water.

Toda stared through as she saw a small 'squid ghost' float into the air, before, dissolving? So that's what happens to squids when they respawn. "Oh. Well," Toda said, after seeing her teammate be splatted upon arrival.

 _That was amusing._

She pressed the button on her wristpad, giving everyone the echolocator, and she watched as her special proved beneficial. The level 42 charger was splatted.

"Hey behind you— _vluuuh!_ "

Toda looked behind her and tried to aim her Hero Shot at the octoling who had just splatted Paci, but dove into the ink herself. They were cornered, an octoling on either side, and Toda blamed Paci. If he hadn't revealed his hiding spot the octolings wouldn't have seen him, and they wouldn't be cornered like this. The octolings made a chittering noise which was apparently laughter, they were confident that the inklings would be finished after all. The octoling that was about to ink Toda out of her hiding place glanced to the side, and made a sad warble as her little octopus ghost floated out of the air. Paci emerged from the side of the wall. His eyes widened, a signal to Toda to turn around and splat somebody. And that was just what she did.

Paci began inking ahead. "You okay there?"

Toda blinked. "What do you think I am? A squidling?"

Paci shrugged. His mantle flashed a soft purple-white. _Just asking._

When the path ahead was completely teal, they squidded on. They couldn't be much far now, just a few more enemies ahead.

Toda jerked Paci back behind a wall. And octoling was present on the other side. Toda began making deep breaths. Her mantle pulsed red around its edges, making Paci back away a bit. She ran past the wall and turned into a squid, and shot straight up into the air. The confused octoling searched above for any sign of the whereabouts of a teal squid, but she was just about to find out now.

Paci heard the octoling scream. He crept out from behind the wall, and was shocked at the sight.

The octoling was clawing at her mantle, screaming in pain. Sitting atop the octoling's head, was a teal squid. And it was biting her. Toda had her beak clamped on hard to the octoling's mantle, using the suckers on her arms to stay on. There was a small ripping sound, and bright blue liquid began to splatter the ground. It was visible in the ink, slowly dissolving in small spots.

Paci felt a small spray of the blue. It wasn't their ink, it was the octoling's _blood_. In the chaos which existed between squid-Toda and the octoling, there was blue spatters and flashes of a squid's black beak, almost about to slip off. Toda began giving sharp looks at Paci, who eventually got the idea and splatted the octoling. Squid-Toda dropped down into the teal ink. She changed back to her inkling form, and stood still, facing away from Paci.

It was quite silent for a long time.

"Uh-um, Toda?" Paci asked, ready to sprint away if he needed to. Toda turned around. Her face was illuminated dark red, and there were blue stains around her mouth. She opened it slightly, revealing her completely blue beak. She closed her eyes, tipped back her head, then spat out the blood in her mouth.

"Ugh! You gotta tissue or somethin'? I don't wanna have this in my mouth any longer!" Toda cried, then began spitting out the blood. She then was changing repeatedly from inkling to squid, to get all the blood off her (it works). She wiped her mouth and stared at Paci, who was looking from Toda to the splatters of blue on the ground. She grunted. "Let's get a move on, shall we?"

Paci nodded. "Uh, yea, r-right."

They retrieved the zapfish from one more dome, and that's when things really began getting serious. Electrical denies to Histioteu Township, and Pyroteu Township. Ranked battles have been canceled, so it's only turf wars now.

"Inkstrike!" Toda cried out, and ripples appeared in blue ink as Paci narrowly dodged the Octostriker's attack. They were almost there, to its base. Toda threw a seeker in the huge area of red ink (it's really fuchsia) in order to reveal any snorkeler Octarians. The seeker beeped and nearly splatted one Octotrooper, who was splatted with two hits by Toda.

While inking the area, Paci asked, "Hey, don't you, recognize this place?"

Toda looked around. She had seen this place before. "Isn't this the, path to Inkopolis? The one with the jump pad and everything. I took this path," she looked at Paci. " _We_ took this path."

Paci nodded. "Jump pad ahead."

The two inklings squidded through the grates, and took their places on the jump pad. Toda launched first, then Paci, and he could swear that he'd seen her miss the landing, but she ended up on the platform with him anyway. But, it wasn't a platform. It was some kind of spaceship, and in the middle, was the Octostriker. It noticed Toda and Paci arriving at its base, and rose out of the ink. It was identical to an Octobomber, but much darker in coloring. Paci rippled a pale green through his mantle. He was nervous. There was limited space around to dodge these inkstrikes and— what if he fell off? These thoughts were interrupted by Toda grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the inkstrike. Instead of snapping at him for not paying attention, a bright orange flashed in her blue mantle. _Get your mind in focus._

The Octocopters flying around the area weren't _that_ much of a problem. Paci shot at them, and inked the area for Toda, while she inked up the Octostriker. The Octostriker flinched, then finally, exploded, covering the area the same way the Octostomp had. The zapfish was revealed in the middle, where the pool of fuchsia ink had once been.

"Get back here you lil' sardine!" Toda snapped as the zapfish began sloshing its way through the blue ink.

Paci tried picking it up but was only electrically shocked in response. His mantle flashed a bright apricot, then pale green, before he fell down flat on his face.

"Welp, thanks for the _help_ Paci," Toda remarked. He groaned.

Toda took a few steps out of the dip in the middle, and looked over the edge of the aircraft.

 _Now, next thing, getting down from this height with a zapfish in our hands._

She turned around, expecting for Paci to already be up and following, but he wasn't. Toda walked back into the dip and saw Paci still lying there face-flat.

"Do you want to sleep on this thing?"

Paci groaned.

 _Do I have to carry_ him _too?!_

Toda knelt down beside Paci, zapfish in her arm. She bent close enough to his ear.

"WAKE UP YOU LAZY PILE OF SHELL!"

Paci sat straight up. "Aaah, what the heck was that for?!" he exclaimed, taking off his hero headset to rub his ear-fins.

"Oh, I'm just being your substitute for coffee. Or really cold water," Toda said. The sun had almost vanished from the sky, and the lights of Inkopolis were starting to turn on. The two inklings' mantles also showed bioluminescence.

Paci brushed some blue ink off his arm. "I wonder who needs coffee at night."

The aircraft shook a bit. Toda steadied herself. "What was that?"

The whirring caused by the aircraft's electricity was now slowing.

"That doesn't sound good," Paci remarked.

The aircraft jerked lower, making Toda and Paci yelp. Both their mantles were now pulsing with white and green spirals. _Fear. Foreboding._

The aircraft was now beginning to tip. With thinking, Toda screamed, "RUN!"

They both ran towards the edge, slipping on their own ink. "To where?!" Paci asked frantically. "There's nowhere to go without a fall that will certainly break your pen!" (A pen is a short name for gladius, the feathery, pen-like internal shell squids possess)

"Too late!" Toda snapped as she grabbed Paci's arm and jumped down, hoping to land on the jump pad where they took off, rather than in the nearby traffic. The last thing she saw was the zapfish slipping out of her arms, then black.

"Urrgh," Toda groaned. She tried to sit herself up, too painful. She took to simply rolling over instead. She lay in the shade of a small tree, with broken branches from her and Paci's crash landing. The fallen branches littered the ground. Toda tried to speak, not much came out. "P-Paci—"

There was a rustle from the tree. After a moment, a blue squid plopped down on the ground beside Toda. One of its tentacles was bleeding deep, blue blood.

They lay there for quite a while, regaining their strength. Toda sat up. "Paci, your tentacle—!"

Paci looked down at one of his tentacles. It was cut clean off, leaking blue blood. One of his ventrals. "Eh, it hurts and all, but, it'll grow back."

Toda sat and stared for a moment. She looked behind Paci. "H-hey, look!"

The strange spaceship thing that had been the Octostriker's base had crashed into several pieces. It leaked some fuchsia ink, which pooled over the surrounding ground.

Toda patted the ground with her hands. Then it struck her. _Where's the zapfish?!_

The radio fizzed in their headsets. Cap'n Cuttlefish was coming online.

"H-hello? Hey, you two young'uns still there? You, alive or something? Anyway, if you can hear me, don't worry about that zapfish. I've got it right here. Uh, best you get yer'selves outta that area, pieces of the craft landed in the traffic, and, ya' know. They'll be a little concerned about you two." _Fizz_.

"W-wait, C-Cap'n?" Toda began to ask, but he already signed off. _How did the zapfish get to him so fast?_

She nudged Paci with her hand. He sat upright now, in inkling form. His mantle had changed back to orange, bringing out the color of his eyes.

"Toda, w-we better go."

Toda nodded. They both began to slowly walk back to the path, where they could easily squid in their own ink.

The inkling slammed her hand on the table. It knocked down the tablet that had been carefully set up, blinking yellow lights against a purple background. The lights were markers. It was a giant map. "Should've seen them," a voice called out.

The inkling turned to face its owner. "Oh yeah, all bloody (not entirely), hurt (not entirely)."

"You should feel even a _little_ sorry for them," said the other female inkling, who placed two cups on the table before sitting down.

"They should expect this stuff. Getting hurt and all. It's a _war._ Not a turf war or ink battle."

"They call it the Great _Turf_ War."

"It was a fight for territory. And they didn't decide by most coverage."

"But they're still young. Only 14."

"People die in wars. What squids expect these days is that death is where you're squished by a roller when you're charger was still charging and you respawn."

"I guess I'm the roller then." The inkling made a face. "Plus, even if you _are_ splatted from an Octarian you still respawn."

"Those things don't work properly. You only get three chances and then the next time you're splatted there won't be a lil' squid-ghost representing your soul being pulled towards the respawn to bring you back to life."

The other inkling went silent. There were no words she could say about this.

"You know the story of the squidling named Eplo?"

"The one about that girl from the time of the Great Turf War."

"She died. The Octarians pushed her into Eel's Hole. And you know what Eel's Hole is?"

The other inkling nodded. "A whirlpool."

"The girl was stripped of her shell and torn into even smaller pieces."

"So violent Uratoh."

"The world isn't innocent. Every time you splat someone during an ink battle, you just killed them. We have literally lived a thousand lives."

"And you waste the chance those new lives give you to find a new career."

"Why? Don't prefer being national pop stars?"

"I'm tired of stalkers. Especially the one dude always outside our window. Man, I wish the thing had curtains."

"You get money."

"So?"

"You can buy all the stuff you want."

"Were'nt we talking about the newbies?"

"Oh, yeah. And the super long swim to Octo Valley. Carrying that stupid carp that kept slipping out of our tentacles."

"It's cute though."

"It's stubborn."

"Well, _I_ wouldn't wanna be held by a squid. Let alone a kraken."

The first inkling shut down the tablet. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep. You know how early people play these games."

The other nodded. "Yeah, I'll get going shortly." She glanced at the inkling's untouched cup. "You didn't drink your mackerel shake."

"You clean up then," the inkling's voice echoed through the hallways. The other inkling grunted.


End file.
